HARTFORD -- Last month at Tennessee women's basketball media day, forward Cierra Burdick said of the Lady Vols: "I think hands down we have the best frontcourt in the country."

She may regret that boast come April if the Lady Vols are good enough to get to the Final Four in Nashville. In the meantime, the UConn women will go about their business of proving on the court that there isn't a post trio in America close to the Huskies'.

The Tennessee junior didn't make her comment without first-hand knowledge of just how good UConn's Stefanie Dolson, Breanna Stewart and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis are. Burdick played with all of them on the USA Basketball 2011 U19 world championship team coached by Hartford's Jennifer Rizzotti. So you have to wonder what Bur-

See UCONN, Page 12B

dick was thinking.

Stewart, recognized by many as the best player in the country, said she thinks Burdick was trying to show loyalty and confidence in her teammates. But the Huskies' sophomore wasn't about to get into a war of words. It's not UConn's style. The Huskies prefer to show how good they are on the court, and they certainly did that in convincing style Saturday.

They opened the season with an 89-34 rout of Hartford in front of 8,186 fans at the XL Center. UConn received a game-high 17 points from sophomore guard Moriah Jefferson, but the Huskies' frontcourt played no small role in the domination of the Hawks.

Dolson scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, in 22 minutes. Stewart (19 minutes) finished with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and five blocks. And in her 19 minutes, Mosqueda-Lewis scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

"What is most impressive about Stefanie and Breanna is how much better they have gotten every year," Rizzotti said. "They are just not content to be as good as they were before. And it is tough, because they both can play on the perimeter. They both bury you on the blocks. They both have size. They are both smart. I told my post players, 'I know this is the impossible matchup, but you have to try a little bit harder.' That is really all you can say, because there isn't one way you can defend them. You take one thing away, and they are great (at something else)."

The 6-foot-2 Burdick and her frontcourt mates, 6-2 sophomore forward Bashaara Graves and 6-3 junior center Isabelle Harrison, led Tennessee to the NCAA Elite 8 last season. But UConn's post players led the Huskies to the national championship.

Dolson, 6-5, is an intelligent player who can finish with both hands around the basket and passes incredibly well. She worked diligently on her outside game to make her more of a threat. At 6-4, Stewart is the most impossible matchup in the country because she has incredible length that allows her to score at ease inside, dominate off the boards and block shots. Oh, yeah, she also shoots the three. And Mosqueda-Lewis is the best 3-point shooter in the country and also a sturdy 6-feet, allowing her to post up just about any small forward.

The three of them combined for 42 points on 16-of-24 shooting Saturday with 12 rebounds, seven assists, six blocks, three steals and just one turnover in 60 minutes.

"What they are also great at is they facilitate the offense," Rizzotti said. "You think that is a point guard's job, but honestly, how much time is the ball in Stefanie Dolson's hands, when you think about it? She was second on the team in assists last year because they want the ball in her hands. So she makes good decisions. They are both efficient. And they both can facilitate a lot of what is going on with that offense. They screen, they hand it off, they roll, and then they crash the boards like nobody else."

Rizzotti went into Saturday's game wary of Stewart, but with half the Hawks' scouting report centered on Mosqueda-Lewis because she was the most efficient player on the team last year.

"And then you have Stefanie Dolson, who was the best player in the first half," said Rizzotti, adding that she can't imagine there is a better center in the country than Dolson right now.

"We have a pretty solid frontcourt," Dolson said. "I think, personally, we have the best in the country with me, Tuck, Stewie and Kiah (Stokes). There are a lot of things that we can all do and there's not a lot of people that can guard us. We all have the ability to go inside and out, and I think that just makes it a lot more difficult to guard us. And I think we're the best.''

Post a reader comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog. Please be civil and respectful.If you're witty, to the point and quotable, your reader comments may also be included on the Around the Towns page of The Sunday Republican. Readers must be registered and logged in to post comments on the site. Registration is free. Click Here to register.
A Subscription is not required to post comments only a Registration.